Do you have the “guts to give thanks for the things you’ve lost?”
Photo by Sarah Hannigan
This week’s question comes from a song by Cloud Cult. Music is the language of the heart. It can break us open in a way few other things can. And the insight that comes from the breaking, and the opening, can be profoundly revealing.
I often suggest listening to music as a “practice” for my clients, especially those who need help tapping into their emotional world. Cloud Cult certainly breaks me wide open with its stunning musical arrangements and lyrics that invite me to dig deep.
“As kids we believed that the angels talked. Everything is magic until you think it’s not. It’s easy to be thankful for the things you’ve got. It takes guts to give thanks for the things you’ve lost…”
Don’t rush it. Each loss in our life, whether it be a person, a place, an identity, an object…and its accompanying grief, has its own timing. There are stages to grief, some say five, others say seven, but none of them include thankfulness. My dad was sick 4 years ago at this time and passed to the other side December 14. Can I include this loss when I’m likely asked at the Thanksgiving table what I’m grateful for? We’ll see.
“And we grew up believing good wins over bad. So you gave away your heart but the wolves attacked. But then a bigger heart grew back.”
